Singing-talking bank



March 1l, 1952 1 1 BYRNE 2,588,958

` SINGING-TALKING BANK Filed June l, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Q soulRREL 425 5 2f INVENTOR.

JOHN JOSEPH amm March 1l, 1952 1 J BYRNE 2,588,958

SINGING-TALKING BANK Filed June l, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 /7 w 13:15. /ff /V ,242 3 44' z5 Z6 /2/ Z ,22

JNVENTOR. fl-- JOHN .JOSEPH BYRNE 2 i A-rroRN 5 Patented Mar. 11, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SINGING-TALKING BANK John Joseph Byrne, New York, N. Y.

Application J une 1, 1949, Serial No. 96,603

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to the art including coin banks for accumulating savings.

The purposes of the invention are to stimulate thrift by users, especially among children, and to attract their interest at the same time that they are encouraged to deposit coins in the bank of the present invention.

According to the present invention, a coin bank is formed as a relatively flat disk-shaped container whose upper and lower surfaces serve as mechanically grooved phonograph records. Preferably, these surfaces are made of laminated construction with an inner sheet of paper or cardboard covered on both surfaces by plastic material such as Vinylite. The plastic material is adapted to be mechanically grooved to serve as a phonograph recording and at the same time is transparent so that a text or title imprinted upon the inner paper or cardboard sheet is readily visible to convey either a message of thrift or an advertisement, as desired. 'I'he phonograph recording itself may include stories or songs of a type encouraging thrift among children and serving as an inducement to deposit coins in the bank itself.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 shows a fragmentary elevational view of an electric phonograph with the present invention in use thereon;

Figure 2 shows a plan view of the top of the bank of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a vertical, cross-sectional view of the present invention along line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the present invention with the cover removed;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional, elevational view of the element of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a corresponding elevational, crosssectional view of the cover cooperating with the element of Figure 5; and

Figure '7 is a plan view of the underside of the cover of Figure 6.

Referring to the drawings, in Figure l there is shown a conventional electric phonograph having a turntable I I rotated at uniform speed by a shaft I2 upon which rests the bank I3 of the present invention. A pick-up arm I4 having a needle I5 in a pick-up head I6 cooperates with the mechanically grooved surfaces of the record bank I3 to reproduce the recording impressed in the record bank I3. As shown in the remaining iigures, the record bank I3 is formed of two parts, namely, an integral base and housing 2| and a cover 22. The housing 2| is formed with a plane face 23 of circular shape integrally joined with a cylindrical side wall 24. Also integrally formed with the plane face 23 is a center post 215 having an axial bore 26 therein adapted to engage the conventional spindle.

As shown more in detail in Figures 4 and 5, the post 25 is provided with a series of symmetrically located, radially extending and equally spaced lianges or lips 26. In the illustration shown, there are four such lips 26, each occupying 45 of the periphery of the post 25, the separation between adjacent lips 26 being equal to the arcuate extent of each lip. The cylindrical wall 24 is similarly provided with a series of lips 21 extending inwardly therefrom, each also occupying the same arcuate dimension as the lips 26 and being aligned therewith along corresponding radii of the device. A cover 22 is provided with an aperture 3| aligned with the bore 26 of the housing-base 2|. The underside of cover 22 is provided with a series of L-shaped flanges or lips 32 which in plan view as shown in Figure 7 have the same configuration as the lips 26 on the post 25. The inner and outer diameters of the circular arrangement of flanges 32 are substantially the same as the corresponding dimensions of the lips 26. 'Ihe cover 22 is also provided with further L-shaped anges 33 adjacent its outer periphery, these anges 33 facing outwardly in contradistinction of the flanges 32 which face inwardly as shown in Figure 6.

The flanges 33 correspond in arcuate extent, separation and diametral dimensions to the anges or lips 21 of the cylindrical wall 24. It will thus be apparent that by registering the cover 22 upon the housing 2l so that the flanges 33 and 32 of the cover are in registration with the spaces between the lips 21 and 26, respectively, the anges 33 and 32 will slip beneath the lips 21 and 26, respectively, so that by giving the cover 22 a twist of substantially 45, the flange-s 33 engage the lips 2'I and the flanges 32 engage the lips 26 to retain the cover 22 engaged upon the housing-base 2 I.

It will be understood that the outer diameter of the cover 22 is sufciently large to rest upon the edge of the cylindrical wall 24. Thus, When assembled the device has the appearance of a pair of flat circular plates joined at their edges by a cylindrical wall. This cylindrical wall contains a periphery extending slot 4| serving as a coin entrance aperture. The cover 22 is preferably formed of laminated construction including outer layers 42, 43 of plastic such as Vinylite bonded to an inn-er layer 44 of paper, cardboard or the like. Such bonding processes are well known in the art and are customarily used in making inexpensive childrens records today. The thicknesses of these layers 42, 43 and 44 are shown in exaggerated fashion in Figure "6 but it will be understood that they are in reality very much thinner than here portrayed. The outer layers 42 and 43 are preferably of clear transparent materialV so as to render readily visible any imprinting or legend appearing on the inner layer 44. Figure 2 shows by way of example one legend which might be utilized if the record bank were distributed by a savings bank to encourage thrift among its depositors as is customary with many savings banks. It will be understood that any desired type of imprinting either by way of legends, drawings, pictures or the like may be .utilized as desired.

As shown in Figure 3, the outer surface 45 of the cover 22 and the bottom surface 46 of the plane face=23 of the housing-base 2| are both Y mechanically grooved to provide a recorded message or story for use in conjunction with the printed message appearing on the face of the cover `22. Preferably, the housing-base 2l including the post 25, plane face 23 and cylindrical wall 24, with the'li'ps 26 and 21, is integrally molded' at which time the recording grooves are also impressed therein. However, if desired, the recording grooves could be impressed after molding of the housing blank. As an alternative, the base plane face 23 could` be formed of laminated construction in a manner similar to the cover 22 and then joined as by fusing to the cylindrical wall 24 and the center post 25. Similarly, the cover V22 may be formed with the recording grooves impressed therein at .the time the lami- Y nations are joined together or the recording may lbe impressed thereon at a later stage in the manufacture.

The present invention therefore provides a readily accessible coin bank which carries both written and audible messages. Children may be encouraged to save their coins either by the messages carried by the record bank or in the form of compensation for being permitted to listen to the story recorded thereon. The blank itself is l of convenient size for easy handling. In one vform the diameter of the'rercord .bank is approximately seven inches while its overall thickness is approximately one quarter inch. Due to the relatively large area and despite the narrowness of the bank itself, it is adapted to retain a relatively large number of coins. These coins remain in the bank during Vuse and in no way aiect the playing of the recordings impressed thereon.

Where desired, the various lips 26, 21, 32, 33

(and especially the longer ones 21 and 33) may be made slightly helical so that upon rotation of the cover after registration of the cover iianges with the spacing between the lips of the base the cover may be tightly engaged by the wedging action of the helical sloped lips.

It is to be understood that the above description represents but one illustrative embodiment of the present invention and that many minor modications thereof can readily be conceived without departing from the spirit of the invention. It' is intended that the invention be not limited by the above description but solely b the appended claims. Y

What is claimed is:

1. A savings bank comprising a housing having a plane circular bottom wall bearing a phonograph recording impressed therein, a short cylindrical side wall having a peripheral coin entrance slot and an inner post having a bore to receive a phonograph spindle, said side wall having a plurality of arcuately extending inwardly protruding lips and said post havingV corresponding outwardly protruding lips, and a cover similarly bearing a phonograph recording thereon and carrying corresponding outwardly extending lips at its outer periphery and inwardly extending lips near its center, said cover lips beingI adapted to pass between and below said housing lips, whereby upon rotation of said cover relative to said housing said lips engage to return said cover on said housing.

2. A savings banks as in claim l, wherein'at least one of said covers and said housing bottom wall is formed as a laminated structure having an inner sheet adapted to be imprinted with a desired visible message Vand outer plastic sheets bonded to said inner sheet, one of said outer sheets being impressed with phonograph grooves of a recorded message `adapted to be audibly reproduced.

Y JOHN JOSEPH BYRNE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of recordin the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Nov. 14, 1929 

